"Le Portail" (Soleil), one in a series of 27 views of Rouen Cathedral painted by Monet between 1892 and 1893

Impressionist and modern art sale raises $140 million

From Phil Hirschkorn
CNN Correspondent

NEW YORK (CNN) -- For the second time this week, an unnamed buyer has paid more than $20 million for a painting by French Impressionist Claude Monet.

A Monet painting of the Rouen Cathedral, "Le Portail" (Soleil), sold at auction for $24.2 million Wednesday night at Sotheby's in Manhattan.

The 3-foot-high canvas of the cathedral's facade is one of 27 views of the church finished by Monet between 1892-93. It was the night's top-selling item.

Overall, 42 paintings and sculptures were sold for $140.4 million. Including auction house commissions, this was the second-highest sale of various owners's art at Sotheby's in the past 10 years.

A record was set for an auction sale of sculpture when a 2-foot-high Henri Matisse bronze, "La Serpentine," was purchased for $14 million.

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